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Learning how to learn is half the battle as a student. Once a student learns how to learn, they will thrive not only in the classroom but outside the classroom as well and in their professional lives as well. Evan Weinberger, Founder of Illuminous, joins us today to share his strategies and advice for how students can prepare for success in their academic environment.
Key Takeaways:
The disruption and negative impact on education due to the pandemic has been significant for many and reentry to the classroom has not been easy either for students, teachers, staff, or parents.
Social integration has been a challenge for students returning to school
Developing strong organizational and time management skills is key to managing the workload
Binders are essential to organizing your work in various classes. Don’t have a separate binder for every class. Use either a physical binder or an electronic binder. Color code them and label your folders.
Time management skills
- Portals/syllabuses for school are tools to get dates and assignments for classes, but they should not be the sole planning tool for students. Creating and using a digital or physical planner helps students stay on track.
- Break up big tasks into smaller tasks, so it is much more manageable.
Study Skills
- Ask yourself questions like: How do you learn? What are you trying to learn?
- Students can have different approaches for different subjects and teaching styles. For example, there are note taking strategies and test taking strategies.
Top 3 tips for College Students
(1) Tools and supplies for success
- Laptop. Notebooks. Pens. Notebook Paper. Highlighters. Printer. Planner.
(2) Building success systems
- Put classes in your calendar
- Allocate time in your planner for meals, studying, and exercising.
- Review the academic calendar for your school and upload school holidays to your calendar
- Upload office hours for each professor
- Create short cuts for your online portal or the websites you will use frequently throughout the semester
- Set an alarm to get to class on time
- Get the right amount of sleep, eat well, and exercise
(3) Research the campus and surrounding area
- Ask yourself the following questions: What am I going to do for fun? Where should I go shopping for groceries? What are the best places to eat around town? Where is the local pharmacy or urgent care?
- Identify where the academic resources are in case you need help throughout the semester
Important Resources and Links:
Meet Evan Weinberger

Evan Weinberger is the CEO of Illuminos LLC, an academic coaching and tutoring company he co-founded with his cousin Wendy in 2016 after a decade of success growing the sister company he founded in Texas called Staying Ahead of the Game LLC.
The focus of his program is helping kids build the executive functioning skills they need to be successful in the classroom and beyond. The core components include helping students with organization, time management, and influencing the perceptions of others.
Evan particularly enjoys speaking to parents, counselors, and educators all over the country about the power of executive functioning skills and the most useful ways to assist students in getting the most out of school and achieving their goals.
Thank you Evan for joining us today to share your story and strategies for students on how they can learn how to learn and get themselves set up for success in the classroom. Get organized with binders, a journal, notebooks, pens and paper before the semester starts. Upload your syllabus, office hours, important dates, personal time such as working out, extracurricular activities and holidays in to your planner and calendar so you are prepared for day 1 of class. Get familiar with the surrounding area – know where the laundry and dining facilities are, best places to study, where to get a haircut. Pharmacies and the post office. All essential places to make you feel at home and destress the first month of living on campus.